Transparent conductive films can provide both large area electrical conductivity and optical transparency in the visible range of the light spectrum. Potential applications for transparent conductive films include architectural glasses and flat panel displays (FPD).
Architectural glass commonly used in applications such as building glass windows and vehicle windows, typically offers high visible transmission and low emissivity. High visible transmission can allow more sunlight to pass through the windows, thus being desirable in many window applications. Low emissivity can block infrared (IR) radiation to reduce undesirable interior heating. Flat panel displays are used in various electronic devices. For example, flat panel displays can include liquid crystal displays (LCD), plasma displays, and organic light emitting diode displays (OLED). In a flat panel display, the substrates can be manufactured with transparent electrodes, to provide electrical interconnection.
Advances in flexible devices, either in display or lighting components, are driven by many aspects of the device, including the contact layer and electrodes. As a conductive and transparent material, ITO (Indium-Tin-Oxide), is the most commonly used material due its combination of electrical (high conductivity) and optical (high transparency) properties. However, ITO can be brittle, which can limit its use in applications which require the bending and shaping of substrates, which includes flexible displays and flexible touch-screens, and flexible OLEDs for lighting, as well as flexible OLEDs for displays.
Advanced flat panel displays, e.g., larger screen size and faster graphics, can require higher conductivity in transparent conductive films. Ultra thin silver layers can be much thinner than a typical transparent conductive film and still provide superior conductivity. Further, silver is ductile, which can enable the device to be bent. However, silver is not a very durable material, and if used as an ultra-thin layer, can result in a limited lifetime and durability.
Therefore, is it desirable to improve silver based conductive layers for flexible electronic applications.